SABR Matt: Now that Apophis is dead (finally!!), we needed a new "big bad"...thankfully, this one is going to get a lot of well-earned mileage and be a major pain in the butt for 3 1/2 long years...and none of that time will be boring. The foreshadowing to the new big bad begins here and is well done. That alone would make this episode a good one - as would the moral dilemma between looking out for the interests of your own people at the cost of billions of innocent lives or fighting for what's right at the cost of your own lives. But, what it comes down to for me is this episode's clear lesson to would-be elitists. We have a lot of folks at the tops of our institutions of higher learning, government business, and policy research who think they know more than the lot of us...but, to paraphrase from an old Japanese saying: "The fat cat that stands tallest is blown to high hell if he doesn't stoop down and mingle with the commoners."

The story behind Tollana's position on sharing technology is at least somewhat believable and a cautionary tale on giving away too much too fast without proper supervision...but they, like many elites, went too far the other way in their own minds. They went from assuming that giving technological marvels to less developed people might raise their quality of life to assuming that anyone who isn't Tollan or even more advanced (the the Nox) is completely stupid and completely inferior and will surely blow themselves up if they get their hands on some new goodies. With that belief comes a narrow existence where you must always fend for yourselves but you have no reason to continue to innovate (you're high and mighty already, right?). The inevitable result...the Goa'uld see the Tollans as a threat and find a way around their defenses...and with no friends to help them, they are completely and totally screwed. Forced to do great evil to survive or perish in the name of a greater good - neither of which is a tolerable alternative.

Just because a man knows less about a subject than you do doesn't make you the arbiter and owner of that subject for all eternity. Note the difference between how we humans approached lesser species and how the Tollans handled it. We forged trade alliances, protected weaker people from Goa'uld oppression, developed a whole network of safe planets to which we could send refugees, gathered technology where possible, and hey...didn't blow ourselves up in the process! Even the Asgard could teach the Tollans a few things about how to handle less developed species. Point is...if you go it alone assuming you're too big to be toppled, you will be a target and you will fall. Hard. The more confidence you express in a scientific theory, for example, the more you encourage dissent and the harder people will work to inevitably find the flaws in your theory (*cough*global warming*cough*).

Stephanie S: The other currently relevant lesson that one can glean from this episode is this: It is not the moral position to look out solely for your own nation's interests. While I certainly don't advocate ignoring the needs of your nation entirely - I'm not a transnationalist, in other words - when an evil of global impact is on the rise, it is not enough to cut deals simply to safeguard your own countrymen. Not only is it unconscionable to ignore others who are facing the same threat, but there's no guarantee that such an enemy will ultimately honor the terms of any agreements you make. Before World War II, the allied powers foolishly believed that they could throw Czechoslovakia under the proverbial bus and therefore avoid German attacks at home, but all they did was embolden Hitler. Today, meanwhile, there are many who would rather ignore the Islamist threat in exchange for a steady flow of lucrative oil, but that has not made Islamic radicals any less determined to destroy us. We don't know what might've happened to Tollana had Narim not intervened and stopped his government's plan, but I'm betting that Anubis would've gotten around to destroying them anyway once they were no longer needed because that's how evil works.

Writing: 9.0 / 9.0

Effective foreshadowing and presentation style take an ordinary plot and make it very entertaining to watch even on second viewing.

Acting: 9.0 / 9.0

Other than Garwin Sanford (Narim) whose portrayal felt forced to me (probably because the quasi-romantic aspect of the story between he and Carter was always forced on us out of nothing), even the guest stars were well above par and the regulars' reaction to the end of the Tollan civilization feels very appropriate and very real.

Message: 9.0 / 9.0

See comments above - I'll take a good anti-elitist romp any day.

Highlights:

TRAVELLEYou've often expressed a strong interest in obtaining some of our technology.

O'NEILLYou could say.

TRAVELLIn the past, the prevailing beliefs of the Curia have made any such arrangements impossible.

DANIELI'm sorry. What does this have to do with Omoc's death?

TRAVELLSome members of the Curia have been slowly changing their point of view about our isolationist ways. Recently, the balance of the votes on these issues have been split. Omoc strongly supported the old ways.

DANIELSo with his passing, those in favour now control the vote?

TRAVELLWe would like to propose an exchange.

O'NEILLAh, the sound of the other shoe…

TRAVELLPlease, Colonel. Have you ever known any political body to act solely without concern for its own needs?

O'NEILLWhat do you want?

TRAVELLWe originally chose this planet for our new home because of its natural supply of Trinium. However, our nation has grown much quicker than anyone anticipated. And the resources are becoming depleted.

DANIELAlways a good reason to reassess your isolationist ways.

O'NEILLShe offered us an ion cannon.

NARIMI don't believe it!

O'NEILLNeither did we.

DANIELIn exchange for some Trinium.

NARIMThat's impossible! The Curia would never agree to that.

DANIELWell, apparently, Omoc was the swing vote.

NARIMBut it goes against everything we've stood for!

CARTERDo you think this is what Omoc was so worried about?

NARIMOf course, it must have been. As you know, another world once destroyed themselves because we shared our technology with them. That's why we have so strongly resisted sharing what we know with more primitive societies.

O'NEILLYou know, we prefer "less advanced" if you don't mind.

NARIMMy apologies. You know what I meant. If used the wrong way, this ion cannon could lead you to disaster.

HAMMONDI'm ordering you to proceed with the negotiations.

O'NEILL(getting up)Okay.

HAMMONDColonel, under the circumstances…

O'NEILLIf you are going to recommend that I continue to be suspicious and skeptical…

HAMMONDI wouldn't waste my time.

O'NEILLGood thinking, Sir.

HAMMONDJust remember this deal could change the course of our history.

O'NEILLSo—don't blow it?

HAMMONDWhat you're sensing as trouble could be simple internal political wrangling.

CARTERNarim, we understand why you're concerned, but those ion cannons could save Earth one day.

DANIELYou're just going to have to trust our people won't blow each other up with them.

O'NEILLAnd if we do, we won't blame you, promise.

O'NEILLWell, we've come up with a solution you may not have considered.

TRAVELLYes?

O'NEILLGive us more than…

O'NEILLDANIEL(together)One.

TRAVELLHow many would you require?

DANIEL(hesitently)Mmmmm—thirty…

O'NEILL…eight.

DANIELThirty-eight. Total.

TRAVELLI see. Well, I understand your dilemma. Please, give me some time to present your request to the Curia.

O'NEILLThat went—well.

DANIELYou think Narim's right about Omoc?

O'NEILLI think this thing smells worse and worse by the minute.

DANIELAre you still willing to proceed?

O'NEILLWell, I think it's the only way we're going to find out what's really going on.

DANIELThe question is, how far do we go?

O'NEILLWell, all we know is that these people might be willing to part with some very powerful weapons. I have No problem with that.

DANIELOh—no surprise there.

O'NEILLAt worse, some people disagree on some philosophical level that I don't even care to understand.

DANIELActually, worst, they killed someone to make sure this would happen.

O'NEILLNow, see? That makes no sense to me.

DANIELExactly. So, we push on blindly, then.

O'NEILLBlindly, yes. But we still have our slightly heightened sense of smell.

HAMMONDAs far as what you told me, there seems to be an evil conspiracy among the Tollan Curia, whose apparent goal is to give us everything we ever wanted. That makes no sense.

O'NEILLI said that.

TEAL'CUnless the Tollan can not procure Trinium on their own as easily as they claim.

DANIELTravell did go to great lengths to convince us it was just a face-saving exercise to appease the nay-sayers.

HAMMONDDo we have any idea what the Tollans are going to do with the Trinium?

O'NEILLLots and lots of very interesting and unspecific things.

CARTERSir, we could try tagging the first shipment, see where it goes.

HAMMONDHow?

CARTERWell, we introduce a barely detectable radioactive isotope. If the Tollans catch it and enquire, we say it's a by-product of the purification process, and we've been unable to eliminate it entirely.

HAMMONDDo it.

NARIMWhat I am doing is nothing.

O'NEILLThen help us.

NARIMHow?

CARTERTell us how to get into Travell's office and access her computer.

NARIMWhat?

DANIELIf there is a conspiracy, she's in on it.

TEAL'CIt was in fact Travell that offered us the ion cannons.

NARIMIt's impossible! There's no way.

O'NEILLNarim, will you get your head out of your ass? You started this!

DANIELYour government is deceiving its people. You said yourself, that's the most heinous crime you can think of.

NARIMI should have reported this to the security office long ago.

CARTERBut you can't because the Curia ultimately have more power.

TEAL'CAs a citizen, is it not your duty to investigate such a crime?

NARIMThe security systems prevent…

DANIELTravell was able to turn them off in her office.

NARIMWhy would she do that?

O'NEILLSo she could talk to us off the record.

NARIMThat is a severe violation of the governmental conduct code.

O'NEILLGee, what a shock!

CARTERThere was no random ion cannon test.

NARIMIt says a Goa'uld ship entered orbit, and that the ion cannons fired in defense.

DANIEL"Ineffectively?"

NARIMI don't see how that could be! Our ion cannons have always been successful against Goa'uld mother ships.

CARTERMaybe this Goa'uld has developed shields that defend against them.

NARIMThat would be catastrophic. We have no other weapons capable of defending…

CARTERWait a second—this makes no sense. It says, "Despite resisting your attack, the ship left peacefully."

DANIELYeah, right.

CARTERWhy would a Goa'uld mother ship impervious to your ion cannons just leave?

DANIELOkay, where does the Trinium come in?

NARIMTrinium is required to house any device that generates our phase shift technology.

DANIELAre you saying this bomb is being made so it can go through anything?

NARIMTheoretically, yes. Of course, that must be it. This weapon is intended to replace the ion cannon in defence of our planet.

CARTERSorry, Narim. That just doesn't add up. A Goa'uld would never drop by just so you could check out his new shield technology and then go away to give your people time to build a weapon to penetrate it.

NARIMWhat else could have possibly happened?

NARIM(to Travell)How could you do this?

TRAVELLI have done nothing alone, Narim. The Curia is acting in the interest of Tollana.

NARIMYou murdered Omoc!

TRAVELLHad we not done what we did, there would be no Tollana to speak of.

TANITHAnd there won't be if you do not fullfil your promise, Chancellor.

TRAVELLRest assured, we will deliver as promised.

NARIMYou and the Curia are not in power to make such deals on behalf of the Tollan people. We would rather fight and die than trade our technology to the Goa'uld.

TRAVELLI wonder if you would you be so quick to make that decision were you in my position.

NARIMWe were caught by Travell and the Goa'uld the Curia have entered into a bargain with. I managed to escape with this.

[He holds his arm up to show the device.]

NARIMBut the entire security force of Tollana must be looking for me—and you for that matter.

O'NEILLUh, back up to that Goa'uld bargain part.

NARIMThe Tollan Curia have made a deal with a Goa'uld. His name is Tanith.

[Teal'c reacts to the name.]

O'NEILLEasy, big fella.

NARIMWhat can we do?

O'NEILLDestroy them.

NARIMHow?

O'NEILLYou tell me.

NARIMTravelle is right. It's not so easy when the fate of your planet is in your own hands.

O'NEILLNarim…

NARIMLook, the Goa'uld will attack Tollana if the delivery is not made. You are asking me to destroy my own world.

O'NEILLI am asking you not to destroy Earth and God knows how many other planets to save your own ass. I'm asking you to do the right thing, and you know it.

DANIEL(to Travell)You know exactly why you were building these devices and what they would be used for.

CARTERYou just didn't expect them to make you pull the trigger.

DANIELThe Goa'uld have no choice. Earth is a protected planet. They can't do it themselves without having to deal with the Asgard.

TRAVELLI had no choice either.

CARTERYes, you did.

DAVISWe're getting a direct transmission from a Tollan long range communication device.

NARIM(garbled transmission over radio)…To get the people out. The Stargate was destroyed…

CARTERNarim.

NARIMAll defenses failing…our ships attempting to escape are being shot down…I just want you to know that…